History Will See I Did Good, Professional Job At Chelsea – Rafael Benitez

Rafael Benitez is confident that history will judge his short stint as Chelsea manager a success despite the problems surrounding his time at Stamford Bridge.

Benitez took the controversial decision to take up the interim Chelsea manager’s role in November 2012, after the Blues sacked Italian Roberto Di Matteo following a poor start to the season.

The Spaniard was a divisive figure amongst the Chelsea fans because of his history with Liverpool and some disparaging comments he made about the club and their support base during his time at Anfield.

However, Benitez went on to win the Europa League during his six months at Chelsea and guided the Blues to a third-place finish in the Premier League, meaning Champions League football.

The 59-year-old insisted that he never had any second thoughts about taking up the Chelsea job despite being the Liverpool manager previously.

He stressed that the board and the players supported him during his time at the club and Benitez is certain that history will be kinder towards his time at Chelsea.

Speaking about taking up the Chelsea job, Benitez told The Athletic: “It was a very easy decision because it was a top club with top players.

“What I have to say is that the board, the players and the staff were always very supportive.

“I think the majority of the fans appreciated what we did at this time. I was really happy to perform and do what we did.

“I hope that history will look back and see we did a good, professional job and that we were successful.

“I still have a great relationship with a lot of people there.”

Benitez took charge of Napoli after his interim stint with Chelsea was over.